ET MOURIR DE PLAISIR (And Die Of Pleasure) known in England and America as BLOOD AND ROSES is a remarkable little film from director Roger Vadim that was released in 1960. It is Vadim’s take on the classic female vampire novella CARMILLA by Sheridan Le Fanu which has been filmed many times most notably as VAMPYR in 1932 and Hammer’s THE VAMPIRE LOVERS in 1970. This is absolutely my favorite cinematic version of the story as it combines a number of elements that make it more memorable than the others. The cinematography is first rate, the music score is haunting, the color scheme of the settings and the clothing not to mention the lighting is very effective and the dream sequence at the end (which borrows heavily from Jean Cocteau) once seen is impossible to forget. If the performances aren’t up to the level of everything else (especially in the dubbed version), it doesn’t matter for this is not a performance driven film.
Set in what was then a contemporary setting (1960), the film opens aboard a jet in flight while a voiceover tells us that the narrator is over 200 years old and that spirits do exist. The film then plays out in flashback as we meet present day members of the Karnstein family, cousins Leopoldo (Mel Ferrer in a role intended for Christopher Lee) and Carmilla (Annette Stroyberg then Vadim). Leopoldo plans to marry Georgia Monteverdi (Elsa Martinelli) not wanting to recognize that Carmilla is in love with him. She then becomes possessed by the spirit of a dead ancestor, the vampire Millarca, who has her own plan for dealing with her cousin. The costume ball and the fireworks display along with the aforementioned dream sequence, raise BLOOD AND ROSES to the level of art.
The film is not for everyone and certainly not for today’s horror crowd who want everything jacked up several notches including their romantic encounters. Most would find it incredibly slow and boring (just read some of the other reviews) but if you prefer a MASTERPIECE THEATRE approach to a classic work of supernatural fiction then BLOOD AND ROSES is hard to beat. Just be aware of that fact before you see it. And speaking of seeing it, WHERE IS THE DVD? The fact that the film looks and sounds beautiful on an old Paramount EP videocassette means that on disc or blu-ray in the proper aspect ratio and perhaps with the original French version as an extra (or vice versa), it would be a knockout! A prime candidate for the Criterion or even the Olive Films treatment. Paramount has worked with both of these high quality outfits in the recent past and, as the saying goes, there’s no time like the present.
The Capsule Critic 